The 3rd SEAMEO SPAFA International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology (SPAFACON2019) will be held at the Sukosol Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, on 17-21 June 2019. It is organised by the Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO SPAFA) and the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture of Thailand. The programme of SPAFACON2019 will comprise the conference proper from Monday 17 to Wednesday 19 June, an additional day of optional site visits on Thursday 20 June, and a series of workshops and meetings on Friday 21 June.

Background

This conference series convened by SEAMEO SPAFA is Southeast Asia's first and only locally-initiated international platform dedicated to the sharing and updating of archaeological knowledge in the region. Conferences are held every three years, with the two previous events having been held in Chonburi (2013) and Bangkok (2016). In both events, a majority of the participants came from Southeast Asia with numbers increasing from 120 to 220. As a feature of SEAMEO events, SPAFA facilitates the representation of all Southeast Asian countries through the provision of Country Reports, delivered by the nominees of the 11 Southeast Asian countries. The proceedings of the 2nd International Conference were published earlier in 2018. The conference also promotes the discussion of regional issues, such as underwater cultural heritage, rock art and archaeology education, as well as provide platforms for countries such as Myanmar and Singapore that have emerging local archaeological research.

Call for sessions

An initial call for sessions has been launched, which invites professionals to propose or convene a session around a specific topic. It remains open until 31 October 2018. A general call for papers will be announced in November 2018, and the list of sessions is expected to be finalised in early 2019.

Further information

SEAMEO SPAFA has established a mailing list providing updates about SPAFACON2019. In order to register, submit proposals to the call for sessions, and access further information about the conference, please visit the dedicated website at http://www.seameo-spafa.org/conference2019/